Just Friends?: A 'Lost' Adventure
by Maltrazz
Summary: After the failed wedding, Ranma feels that he needs a friend more than a fiance. He works to make things right with Ryoga. However, when an artifact does not work as expected, Ryoga finds himself turning into a girl, and Ranma finds out that the Hibiki's bad sense of direction is actually a curse... that is now effecting Ranma, too. From there, the Chaos only spreads. (renamed)
1. Repairing a Friendship

**Just Friends?**

**AN:** My first jaunt into pure Ranma (one of my top three favorite series)! The main pairing will be Ryoga and Ranma-chan (my all time favorite pairing). I will be taking the progression of thier relationship fairly slow. So do not expect anything major right away in the romance department.

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Repairing a Friendship<span>

Ranma Saotome was deep in thought as he walked toward the park. Things were bad with Akane even before the failed wedding, but now they were much worse. He was pretty sure now that their relationship was beyond repair.

He had gotten to thinking, and realized that, for once, he needed to talk to someone. It had to be someone that really understood his life, so his friends at school were out. None of his fiances would work, because they would either try to use it to gain an advantage, or they would not listen in the first place. Nabiki wouls just use it to blackmail him, and there was no way in hell that he was going to actually _talk_ to his parents.

Kasumi might help, but he did not want to burden the kind-hearted Tendo if he could avoid it. He would have spoken to Doctor Tofu, but no one had seen him for months... Much to Kasumi's disappointment.

There was one person, though. Ranma was not sure if they could be considered friends, but he thought that with a little work on his part, he could change them from just rivals, to friends as well. Convincing Ryoga to stop attacking him on sight, was definately going to be painful, though.

He was so deep in thought, that he did not notice when he was splashed with water by the Ladle Lady. Ranma had gotten so used to her curse that she hardly noticed when she changed anymore.

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><p>When she got to the park, she saw a familiar tent, and released a pent up breath that she had not realized she had been holding. She had been worried that she would get there only to find Ryoga gone again. Though, to be perfectly fair, he had been getting better about staying in Nerima, even if he did still get lost within the ward.<p>

She approached the tent, before stopping roughly ten feet away from it. "Yo, Ryoga!" She called out. "Are ya in there?"

Ranma heard movement inside the tent. Ryoga stepped out and glared at the redhead.

"Ranma." Ryoga growled. "It's not enough that you make my life worse every time I run into you, but now actually come looking for me?" The lost boy moved into an agressive stance, his deceptively heavy umbrella in one hand.

Ranma winced. When she had thought about it, she had realized that most of Ryoga's problems (except for getting lost all the time) really were her fault, even if indirectly.

"Ryoga, listen," the redhead said hesitantly. Ryoga noticed the tone of voice, and raised an eyebrow. What could make Ranma Saotome of all people sound hesitant?

She took a deep breath breath, swallowed, and then did something that made Ryoga's jaw drop. Ranma bowed to him and declared, "I'm sorry!"

Ryoga just stood there, completely shocked. Ranma never apologized. Ever. All that he was able to say was, "Wh-what?

She stood straight, and said solemnly, "I thought 'bout what you always said, and realized you were right. 'Cept for your gettin' lost all the time, pretty much everythin' bad that happened to you was because of me. I realized that you were the closest thing I had to a best friend, and I wanna make it up to you, no matter what it takes."

Ryoga stared at her, trying to figure out whether or not this was just another one of Ranma's tricks.

"What's going on?" Ryoga said with a glare. "The Ranma I know would never just apologise for no reason."

Ranma glared back. "Listen, Pig-Brea-" She stopped herself and thought, _Man, I hate sayin' sorry._ "This is hard for me ta say, but I feel I gotta. If there is anythin' I can do to make it up to ya, just let me know."

Ryoga stood for a moment, thinking. This could still be one of Ranma's tricks, but even if it was a trick, he could still get something out of it. And if Ranma WAS being honest, then he had to admit - even if ONLY to himself - that Ranma was the closest thing he had to a friend.

After all, plenty of opportunities to kill Ranma had come up over the last year or so, but he had never taken any of them. Despite what he said, he did not really want to kill the aquatransexual. What he really wanted, was to prove that he, Ryoga Hibiki, was a better martial artist than Ranma Saotome.

And that is when it hit him.

"Have a match with me."

"What?" Ranma said in confusion. _Don't we already fight almost every day?_

"I don't mean a fight." Said the Lost Boy. "I mean a straight up martial arts match. No special moves, no ki attacks, just martial arts.

Ranma's confused expression melted away, inly to be replaced by a feral grin. "You're on!" The redhead declared. "Come on. If we're just doin' martial arts moves we should be able ta use the Tendo's dojo."

As they left the park, Ryoga immediately started walking in the wrong direction. Not wanting to wait five days for their match, Ranma grabbed his hand, and started to lead him to the dojo.

As they were walking down the road, (it would have been hard to roof hop without losing him,) Ryoga idly noticed how small and soft her hand was when compared to his own.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> And there you are! I have a few ideas for this, so the second chapter should come out fairly quick (for me).

Some of you may be worried about Ryoga forgiving Ranma to easily. He has NOT forgiven Ranma yet. Ryoga is just giving him a chance, for reasons stated in the chapter.

I also have a poll on my profile regarding next chapter, so please vote!

As always, Please check out the story ideas I have posted on my profile. I would especially like to see someone pick up "Tyrant of Peace" (Naruto), "Warlock Fox" (Naruto/Looking For Group), and "Past Lives Revived" (Naruto/Ranma 1/2).

All flames will be used to light Happo Fire Bombs, which will then be thrown at the flamers.


	2. Watch Where You Step

**Just Friends?**

**AN:**Here is the second chapter! You can thank the Japanese release of the Ranma 1/2 live action movie for giving me the inspiration to finish this. Also, the first of many embarrassing situations is in this chapter. I forgot to do a disclaimer last chapter, so here it is...

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Ranma 1/2, it Ryoga would be a romantic interest for Ranma, and Ranma would have chosen Nabiki for the Tendo engagement.

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><p><strong>Last time, on "Just Friends?"<strong>

As they left the park, Ryoga immediately started walking in the wrong direction. Not wanting to wait five days for their match, Ranma grabbed his hand, and started to lead him to the dojo.

As they were walking down the road, (it would have been hard to roof hop without losing him,) Ryoga idly noticed how small and soft her hand was when compared to his own.

**And now...**

Chapter 2: Watch Where You Step

Much to the surprise of them both, Ranma and Ryoga arrived at the Tendo dojo without anything happening. They walked through the gate, and into the Tendo's home, rather than the dojo. After all, It would not be a real match without a judge.

They entered to find the house surprisingly empty. Then, Ranma smacked her head. She had forgotten that it was Sunday, and she had decided to talk to Ryoga today, because everyone had plans.

Just as she was about to explain what happened to Ryoga, she heard the front door slam open. There stood a panting Nabiki. When she saw the two, she grinned, before whipping out her digital camera and taking a picture. See, Nabiki had two cameras a new digital one, for when she could wait for the pictures, and an old Polaroid camera for when she needed the pictures now.(1)

Ranma gained a look of confusion and said, "What'cha doin' back, Nabiki? I thought you were out collectin' blackmail payments, or somethin'."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Saotome." Nabiki said smoothly. "However, I heard something that seemed absolutely preposterous, and just had to see it for myself. And lo and behold, I come back to see that it is true." Nabiki smirked before continuing, "Ranma Saotome and Ryoga Hibiki, hand in hand."(2)

The eyes of the two cursed martial artists widened drastically, before going to their hands that were indeed still holding on to each other. Needless to say, the two quickly sprang apart.

"I-i-it a-ain't like th-that Nabiki!" Ranma stuttered in embarrassment. "I was just leadin' Ryoga(3) back here so we could have our match. 'Sides I'm a guy."

A stray thought found its way to the front of Ryoga's mind, as she said that. _That certainly didn't feel like a guy's hand._ However, as he did not like where such a thought could lead, he proceeded to swiftly beat said thought into a bloody pulp.

Meanwhile, Nabiki was wondering about the statement before that. "A match? Don't you do that all the time? Why come here?"

"Nah," Ranma shook her head, "usually we just fight. Ryoga said we should have a real match." Nabiki rose an eyebrow at that. Since when did Ranma do anything Ryoga said to do? "A match without any ki attacks, or nothin'. Hey, since you're here, could you be the judge for the match?"

Nabiki may not actively practice any martial arts, but she still understood them from an intellectual standpoint. Well, as intellectually as anyone could understand someone firing blasts of emotionally charged energy from their body.

"Alright," Nabiki said as she performed a familiar gesture. She held out her hand, palm up. "That will be 500 yen."

Ranma grumbled, as she started to dig in her pocket for the money. This surprised Ryoga. He had been expecting her to make him pay part, if not all, of Nabiki's fee. _Maybe Ranma really is serious about repairing our friendship._ He thought.

Ranma handed Nabiki the money, and the three headed for the dojo.

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><p>Ranma and Ryoga leapt back from one another once again. Both of them were panting heavily, covered in sweat from their exertion. So far, Ryoga had yet to land more than a glancing blow on his redheaded opponent. Yet, at the same time, Ranma found that her blows were just shrugged off by the Lost Boy.<p>

_Why?_ She thought to herself, _Why'd I have to let my stupid pride get the better of me? Again! If I had just fought him as a guy, I would've won this by now. But, noooo. I just __had__ to prove I could beat him as a girl, too._

Without the Amaguriken (Chestnut Fist), she could not seem to leave any lasting damage. However, the glancing blows she was taking were starting to add up. Not to mention, Ryoga had always had slightly more stamina(4). Add to that, the fact that Ryoga was actually keeping his cool, for once, and this was turning into one of the hardest battles Ranma had ever faced.

They stood about ten feet apart, eyeing each other up, looking for any weakness to exploit. Nabiki stood off to the side, watching. They had been going at it for at least ten minutes now, and she was getting bored. She did not have much to do at this point besides watch that neither used any of their special techniques.

The two martial artists charged each other once more. Unfortunately, they had forgotten to make sure the floor was clear before starting the match. Normally, that would not be an issue, but Akane had missed a piece the last time she cleaned up from smashing cinder blocks inside.

And Ryoga's foot managed to find and slip on that piece, just as he was about to clash with Ranma.

More to the point, this cause him to fall forward, catching Ranma off guard.

The next moment was a blur for the two. Ranma had closed her eyes as Ryoga crashed into her. She now found herself on her back, with and odd weight on the left side of her chest. She opened her eyes, only for them to snap wide open when she saw Ryoga's own brown orbs less then two inches from her.

They were both frozen, just staring at each other in embarrassment. After a moment, (and an odd clicking noise that neither paid attention to,) Ryoga started to get up. However, he froze when Ranma suddenly gasped.

That was when Ryoga noticed something odd. While his left hand was firmly planted on the floor of the dojo, his right hand, however, was not. It held something warm, soft, and round.

Ryoga felt a chill run down his spine, and looked down to see that, yes, his hand was, in fact, on Ranma's breast.

While Ryoga did not fear Ranma (except when Ranma was in the Nekoken), he did have a healthy fear of Righteous Feminine Fury. Even when in girl form, Ranma was not feminine at all, but Ryoga did not want to take any chances. So, he started to ease away from her, hoping that would keep her from coming out of her surprised state.

To say Ranma was surprised, was an understatement. Since she had arrived at the Tendo residence, she had the misfortune of being groped many times. Mostly by Happosai, but Kuno had been guilty a few times, as well. Every time it happened, it was a revolting, and often somewhat painful, experience. While Ryoga's hand on her chest had been surprising, she knew it was an accident. Ryoga was way too chivalrous to do it on purpose. Besides, she was still to surprised to do anything about it.

When he tried to move, however, something much more noticeable happened. He was moving slowly for some reason, and, as he moved his hand, his fingers dragged across her shirt. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of stimulating Ranma through her shirt, and causing an unexpected warmth to trail behind his fingers.

Ranma had avoided her girl form as much as possible, meaning that she was not use to the pleasure she could feel in this body. Thus, it was understandable that a soft moan escaped her lips before she could stop it. Luckily for her, Ryoga did not notice. Neither noticed another click, either.

A moment later the two blushing teens were sitting a few feet apart, not looking at each other. Both were trying to think of something to say, when they heard one last click. This time, they both looked to the source, only to pale in horror.

They had forgotten that Nabiki was there.

And she was sporting a Cheshire grin, while holding her digital camera.

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><p>(1): This will matter in later chapters.<p>

(2): It may seem that Nabiki is blowing this out of proportion, and the truth is... she is. This is Nabiki. Of course, she is going to milk it for all it is worth.

(3): Ranma is refraining from calling Ryoga names to try and help with mending their friendship.

(4): Endurance, Ryoga has way more than Ranma. Stamina, they are about equal.

**AN:** And there you are! I hope you liked the ending. I know exactly what I want to do for the next chapter, so it should come out even more quickly than this one did.

I have a new poll on my profile. Do you want a shorter chapter on Christmas, or a longer chapter on New Year's Day?

As always, Please check out the story ideas I have posted on my profile. I would especially like to see someone pick up "Tyrant of Peace" (Naruto), "Warlock Fox" (Naruto/Looking For Group), and "Past Lives Revived" (Naruto/Ranma 1/2).

All flames will be used to light Happo Fire Bombs, which will then be thrown at the flamers.


	3. Is It Only The Mistletoe?

**Just Friends?**

**AN:** Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you enjoy this Chapter, because it is extra long and was really hard to get out on time. I have even got some seasonal awkwardness for our two 'love birds' this time.

Also, I would like to officially dedicate this story to my two favorite Ryoga X Ranma-chan authors: DaisukeFox and thechilldude. If you have not read their stories, then I highly recommend doing so.

**Author's Rant:** I must say though, I am very disappointed in my readers. Do you know how many reviews I got for chapter two? 4 reviews. Do you know how many hits/visits I got, just for chapter two? 228 hits/189 visits. I just do not get it. If it is a matter of you guys not liking my story, than please say so. I do not like writing. I write for reactions. If I am not getting any, I will find something else to write. I guess that makes me a 'review whore', but you know what? I do not care. Flame me if you want. A negative reaction, is still a reaction.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Ranma 1/2, it Ryoga would be a romantic interest for Ranma, and Ranma would have chosen Nabiki for the Tendo engagement.

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><p><strong>Last time, on "Just Friends?":<strong>

A moment later the two blushing teens were sitting a few feet apart, not looking at each other. Both were trying to think of something to say, when they heard one last click. This time, they both looked to the source, only to pale in horror.

They had forgotten that Nabiki was there.

And she was sporting a Cheshire grin, while holding her digital camera.

**And now...**

Chapter 3: Is It Only The Mistletoe?

Ranma sighed. It had been a while since he had seen Ryoga. It was Christmas Eve, and Ryoga had left Nerima after the "accident" during there spar. Ryoga had run off after the spar, and had not been seen in Nerima since. Ranma hoped that Ryoga would not make a big deal about it when he showed up again, but he was afraid that this may have ruined any chance of repairing our friendship.

Ranma was just coming back with some last minute groceries for Kasumi. He opened the door to the Tendo's home, only to find Nabiki crouched down, folding up a step stool. She looked up to see him and grinned. Ranma felt a shiver run down his spine. Nabiki still had not used the pictures she had taken that day, and he was getting worried.

Nabiki stood up, and took a step up to him. Ranma had to fight the urge to step back. If there was one thing he feared, (besides having to marry a Kuno,) it was Nabiki's smile. It almost always meant either embarrassment, or a lighter wallet, for the person it was directed at.

Needless to say, Ranma's eyes became the size of saucers when she leaned in and kiss him on the lips.

He could not help but compare it to the first time a girl had kissed him. Which was when Shampoo had shown up at the Tendo dojo(1). Despite her not knowing him very well, Shampoo's kiss had been very passionate, while not quite being inappropriate (no tongue). Nabiki's kiss, on the otherhand, was cold and business-like.

_I wonder if everyone's kiss reflects their personality?_ He wondered idly, before snapping his attention back to the matter at hand. He looked at Nabiki in confusion.

"Relax, Saotome. It is only the mistletoe," She pointed up as she said this. Ranma's gaze followed her finger up, and he saw some red berries with green leaves hanging from the ceiling. Nabiki sighed when she saw the confused expression remain on his face. "It is a Western tradition, to hang mistletoe berries from the ceiling. Then, if a boy and a girl get caught under the mistletoe, they have to kiss."

Ranma nodded in understanding, before paling in fear. He jump away from the red berries, and said aloud, "If Shampoo or one of the others catch me under that, 'Kane's gonna kill me."

Nabiki smirked as Ranma ran off. _My sister still has feelings for you, Saotome. She may not take another girl as a serious threat, but what if I make it seem like you are falling in love with a __boy__? I just hope the other half of the plan shows up on time. His letter did say he would be here a week ago._(2)

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><p>The rest of the day was fairly uneventful (for Nerima), and the sun rose on Christmas Day. There was a couple of inches of snow in the streets, and a lone figure was trudging through it. He looked around and said, "Where am I now?"<p>

Ryoga turned down another street, his depression over not being able to spend Christmas at the Tendo's home, steadily growing. He really wanted to see Akane, but the thought of spending more time with a certain redhead was not nearly a unappealing as it use to be.

Ryoga sighed as he kept walking, completely unaware of what fate had in store for him.

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><p>The morning had gone well in the Tendo household. There had been no violence (other than a single incident involving a mallet), and the Tendos and Saotomes were just finishing lunch. Nabiki started to carry her plate and half empty cup to the kitchen, earning a smile from Kasumi.<p>

That smile turned into a gasped, "Oh my!" when Nabiki 'accidentally' tripped and spilled the rest of her water on Ranma, triggering the curse. The now -redhead glared weakly at her, before standing up with a sigh.

"I'm gonna go change." She said, as she left the room. Nabiki followed after Ranma, and caught her right outside the bathroom.

"Wait a moment, Saotome," She said causing the pigtailed girl to stop. "I would like to ask you for a 'favor' before to change back."

Ranma turned around, and her blood ran cold. In Nabiki's hand was a picture of (female) Ranma gasping while being pinned to the ground by Ryoga. However, what made Ranma particularly nervous, was the fact that Nabiki had the picture out already. Usually, Nabiki would ask nicely first, and then threaten with blackmail. That fact that she was skipping straight to the blackmail, meant that whatever she wanted was something Ranma would never agree to on his own.

"You see, Saotome," Nabiki said happily, "I have this outfit that I think would look great on you in this form. I you would be willing to wear it for the rest of today, I would be willing to give you this picture, along with all copies, physical or otherwise."

Ranma's eyes widened slightly at this. Coming from Nabiki, that sounded like an astounding deal. Heowever, because it was Nabiki, Ranma knew there was a catch somewhere. So, she asked "What's the catch?"

"Well, If you choose not to I might accidentallly drop this in front of Akane or our fathers. Besides, if you are in girl form, you do not have to worry about getting caught under the mistletoe with one of your fiances."

Ranma hung her head. There was absolutely no chance she would be able to explain if they saw that picture. "Fine, where is it?"

Nabiki smirked. She had once again defeated with words the boy/girl that no one under a century of age could defeat with force.

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><p>Ranma was aghast as she stared at the outfit on the bed in front of her. They were in Nabiki's room, and the mercenary girl had wasted no time in bringing the outfit out. If you could even call it an outfit.<p>

"No way!" The martial artist said. "At least, let me wear my boxers."

"Nope," said a cheerful Nabiki, as she brought out two more articles of clothing. "You get to wear these, instead.

Ranma fell to her knees, and thought, _How could this day possibly get any worse?_

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><p>Ryoga was dumbfounded. He had made it, he had actually made it! It was about one in the afternoon, and there in front of him was the Tendo dojo. He could finally see Akane again, and Christmas seemed like a good time to ask if Ranma was serious about burying the hatchet.<p>

He got to the door and knocked politely. They probably would not have minded him just walking inside, but this way he would not get lost walking through their house.

He waited of a moment until he heard footsteps approach the door. The door opened to reveal Ranma in girl form.

"Oh, hey Ryoga," She said with a somewhat forced grin, "Glad you were able to make it." Ranma and Nabiki were just coming down the stairs, when there was a knock at the door. Ranma, momentarily forgetting the embarrassing outfit she was wearing, went to answer the door.

Ryoga just stared at her. Of all the things he had expected to see when he got back, this was not even close to being one of them.

She was wearing a red coat with a fluffy white edging. It ended at about mid-thigh, and she wore a black belt, that was higher than it needed to be, which only served to accentuate her already impressive bust even further. On her head was a "Santa hat" with the same color scheme. Her legs where were clad in red stockings, with the same white edging, that ended a coupleinches below the bottom of the coat. This left a few inches of creamy flesh visible between them. All in all, the outfit also served to make the difference between her skin and her fiery hair even more prominent.(3)

Ryoga kept staring for a few moments, before he had to clamp a hand to his nose to prevent a nosebleed. He knew that this was Ranma, and that Ranma was a guy, but still. _No male has any right to look that hot._ He thought to himself.

"R-Ranma, w-wh-what in the hell are you w-wearing?" He finally managed to ask.

Ranma's eyes widened drastically as she remembered what she was wearing. She stepped back inside, before leaning back out slightly, and looking around to make sure no one else saw her like that. She then grabbed Ryoga and pulled him inside.

After she closed the door behind him, Ranma turned back towards the Lost Boy. He had a slight tint to his cheeks, but she suspected that was more from the cold, than her scanty attire. After all, he had seen this form naked before... Then again, he had been trying to kill Ranma at the time.

Ranma was about to say something when she heard a chuckle from down the hall. She turned to see Nabiki leaning against the wall. "What're you laughin' at?"

Nabiki just said, "I am just seeing how long it takes you to remember where you're standing." Seeing the redhead still not understand, she decided to speed things along by flicking her eyes up.

Ranma did not even need to look up, her eyes growing larger as she remembered what happened yesterday, as well as Nabiki's earlier comment about staying in her girl form. She narrowed her eyes at the brown haired girl. "You planned this, didn't ya?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Saotome," Nabiki said with a smile. "Regardless, you really should follow the tradition."

She would have said more, but Ryoga decided to cut in with his own two cents. He said, "I don't know what you two are talking about, but traditions are important Ranma. Upholding them is a matter of honor."

There was a moment of silence, as Ranma just gave him a flat stare, and Nabiki tried, with only partial success, to hold in her laughter. After a moment, Ranma spoke to Ryoga, "Fine, but you asked for this."

Now it was Ryoga's turn to look confused, until Ranma pointed up. when he saw the red berries, everything fell into place. As he felt Ranma place her hands on her shoulders, he steeled himself and thought, _Damn it! By mentioning honor, I practically forced Ranma to kiss me! Ugh, I guess I have no choice. If it didn't mean interrupting Akane's Christmas, I would kill you for this, Ranma!_

Ranma pulled him down, and brought her lips up to his own. The kiss was swift, yet firm. She pulled away after only a second, and thought, _Well, at least it was not as bad as the one with Sanzenin._ Though neither would admit it, even to themselves, they both slightly enjoyed the almost electric spark they had felt when their lips first touched.

They stared each other in the eye, and an unspoken message passed between them. _We will never speak of this again._ They turned to head further into the house, but, once again, their luck struck out.

Standing there gaping at them, was none other than Akane Tendo.

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><p>(1): I am talking about a kiss on the lips. So the Kiss of Death does not count.<p>

(2): If you do not know who I am talking about by now, then why are you reading this story?

(3): I will put a link to a similar picture a found on my profile. I do not own the picture.

**AN:** And there you are! Look forward to the next chapter because that is when the plot actually starts. What! This story actually has a plot? Shocking, is it not?

I have a new poll on my profile for a new story I an going to realease. So, please check it out and vote. The new story is an Inuyasha/Ranma 1/2 crossover, and contains a pairing I have yet to find on this sight: Inuyasha X Ranma-chan!

As always, Please check out the story ideas I have posted on my profile. I would especially like to see someone pick up "Tyrant of Peace" (Naruto), "Warlock Fox" (Naruto/Looking For Group), "My Mother is a Kunoichi?" (Naruto/Ranma 1/2), and "Past Lives Revived" (Naruto/Ranma 1/2).

All flames will be used to light Happo Fire Bombs, which will then be thrown at the flamers.


	4. Unexpected Gift

**Just Friends?**

**AN:** Hello again! *Dodges tomatoes before glaring* I can wait another 11 months if you want! *barrage of tomatoes stops* That's what I thought. Anyway, as most of you are aware from the previous temporary updates, I am moving this story in a new direction. While the overall plot has changed, (more like it did not have one before,) the main pairing, 'T' rating, and first three chapters are still the same, and will remain that way.

Some of you may have noticed that the characters (especially Ranma) have better grammar in their thoughts, than they do in their dialogue. This is because, when I write the dialogue, I actually have to go back and make their grammar worse. I will try to have the thoughts better match the dialogue, in the future.

Disclaimer: If I owned Ranma 1/2, it Ryoga would be a romantic interest for Ranma, and Ranma would have chosen Nabiki for the Tendo engagement.

* * *

><p><strong>Last time, on "Just Friends?":<strong>

Ranma pulled him down, and brought her lips up to his own. The kiss was swift, yet firm. She pulled away after only a second, and thought, _Well, at least it was not as bad as the one with Sanzenin._ Though neither would admit it, even to themselves, they both slightly enjoyed the almost electric spark they had felt when their lips first touched.

They stared each other in the eye, and an unspoken message passed between them. We will never speak of this again. They turned to head further into the house, but, once again, their luck struck out.

Standing there gaping at them, was none other than Akane Tendo.

**And now...**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4: Unexpected Gift<span>

Akane just gaped at them for a moment, and neither Ranma, nor Ryoga, could think of anything to say to head off the anger they knew was coming. Akane finally got over her shock, and a red aura of anger powered ki enveloped her.

"Ranma, how could you?" She yelled at the redhead. "Teasing poor Ryoga isn't enough, now you have to try and seduce him? And WHAT is with that perverted outfit?"

For once, Ranma felt a sliver of true anger mixed with the usual annoyance. Ryoga was the one to bring up honor! At that point, she had no choice but to kiss him. And Nabiki was the one who made her where the outfit. _Although, Ryoga's reaction almost made it worth wearin'. Almost._ Ranma thought with amusement, before returning her thoughts to the matter at hand.

Normally, Ryoga would side with Akane whether she was right or not. However, he really did try to be a good guy, most of the time, and the times he did not, could attributed to the fact that he was a teenage guy. Also, because Akane was blaming Ranma for something that was actually his fault, he felt the need to speak up. It did not hurt that he was still feeling a little guilty for putting Ranma in that position, in the first place.

"Now hold on, Akane," He said, "it was my fault that-"

"WHAT?" Akane's shriek interrupted him. She glared at Ranma, and said, "You told him it was his fault, you jerk? Hell, you're such a pervert that you probably ENJOYED kissing him! Why-"

When Akane insinuated that Ranma had tricked Ryoga into taking the blame, Ranma felt a burst of anger. She had had enough, and yelled out in her rage, "Well, he's a better kisser than you are, that's for sure, ya uncute tomboy!"

Akane was speechless. She and Ryoga just gaped at the redhead, as she stomped past Akane and up the stairs.

Ryoga still felt that Akane deserved an explanation, and said, "Listen, Akane, Nabiki put up some mistletoe, and Ranma and I ended up under it. Nabiki mentioned following a tradition, and I said that following a tradition is a matter of honor. I didn't bother finding out what they were talking about first, and we both know how Ranma is with honor."

Akane remembered the smirk Nabiki had on her face, when she told Akane that Ryoga was here. Akane looked slightly guilty, until Ranma's insult echoed in her head. _He's a better kisser than you are._ She huffed, and stomped back to the dining room muttering, "He's still a pervert."

Ryoga was torn. He really wanted to go be with Akane, but Ranma's reaction was so much different than usual. In the end, he decided to make sure that Ranma was alright. After all, Akane had her family, but Ranma? Well, Genma was not the most supportive father out there.

* * *

><p>As he approached the guest room where Ranma was staying, Ryoga was not sure what he would find. An aura of depression strong enough to rival one of his own was not expected, but not too surprising, either. He opened the door, and saw Ranma sitting on the windowsill, staring outside, the aura of her depression ki causing a slight glow.<p>

He entered the room, softly closing the door behind him. Carefully, he asked, "Are you okay, Ranma?"

Glancing at the Lost Boy, Ranma sighed heavily, before saying, "Yeah, but I ain't sure for how much longer." Seeing Ryoga's confused expression, she elaborated. "Things 'tween Akane and I have been getting' worse. Seems like these days she gets mad at me for jus' bein' in this form. Not like it's by choice, most of the time."

Ryoga could not help but grin. This was the perfect time to show Ranma what he had recently acquired. "Ranma… What if you didn't have to turn into a girl, anymore?"

The redhead gained a confused expression, before noticing the happy grin on her rival's face. Get excited, she said, "You mean… You found a cure!?"

She reigned in her excitement, however, when she noticed his grin falter slightly. "Well, not a _cure_ exactly…"

Eyes narrowing in suspicion, she asked, "What d'ya mean?"

Ryoga set his pack on the floor, and started rummaging through it. _How much does that thing weigh?_ Ranma thought, as the floorboards groaned underneath it. After a few moments, Ryoga pulled forth an object wrapped in cloth, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Shortly after I last, uh, 'left' Nerima, I stumbled across a cave, that turned out to be the resting place of a strange artifact. The writing on the cave wall called it the Curse Exchange Mirror. Pretty unimaginative name, if you ask me. It also said that the mirror was designed to allow someone to give their curse to someone else, but only if they gained a different curse from that person."

"So how does that help?"

"Well, you want to stay male, right?" Seeing the redhead nod in response, he continued. "And I'd like to stay human, regardless of gender." Ranma's eyes started to widen as she realized what he meant. "So my question is, would you rather turn into a girl, or would you rather turn into a **male** piglet?"

Ranma mirrored Ryoga's grin as she said, "Man, am I glad that you made it today. After all, friends should always 'exchange' gifts on Christmas." They both chuckled at the pun, before Ranma remembered something. "Ah, crap. I jus' remembered that I made a deal with Nabiki to wear this outfit for the rest of the day, and as much as I wanna be a guy, I'd rather be a girl if I gotta wear this."

"What could be so bad that you would agree to wear that?"

Ranma gained a slight blush at the memory, as she said, "D'ya remember the pictures she took of the 'accident' durin' our last match?"

Now Ryoga blushed as well. "Ah, okay, that makes sense. Guess we'll do it tomorrow morning, then."

Just then, the door to the room slid open, and Nabiki stepped through. Looking between the two still slightly blushing teens, she said, "Why do I have the feeling I just missed something particularly juicy? Anyway, Kasumi asked me to let you two know that it was time to exchange presents."

With that said, she left the room, leaving Ranma to grab Ryoga's hand and lead him downstairs.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, compared to the previous couple of years at the Tendo residence, and Ryoga spent the night in the guest room with the Saotomes. The next morning, Ranma and Ryoga (both of them human and male) got up bright and early, and head out to the koi pond with the Mirror.<p>

Ryoga carefully unwrapped the silk cover, and let the cloth fall to the ground. The Mirror was designed like a hand mirror, and the glass itself was not very remarkable. The frame, however, was. The left side was pure ebony, and decorated with a carving of a Tenshi (1). The right side seemed to be carved from ivory, and held the shape of an Oni (2).

Actually seeing it for the first time, Ranma started to get a little nervous. After all, he had not exactly had the best experiences with magical artifacts in the past. Despite that, he did not let those feelings show, and turned to the one holding the Mirror. "So, how does this thing work, anyway?"

"Well, according to what was carved into the cave walls, all we have to do is make eye contact with the other's reflection."

"Really? That's it? After all the crap we've been through to try an' get cured, I thought we were gonna have to go to some secret temple in China just to get the thing to work."

Ryoga just shrugged, before smiling. "Maybe since we decided to be friends, our karma is evening out and this is our reward."

Ranma smiled, too. "Sounds good to me. Now let's do this."

Ryoga stood beside Ranma, and held the mirror out in from of them. They brought their eyes to the Mirror, before locking their gaze on the reflection of the other. As their eyes met through the glass, they both felt a tingling sensation that they had come to recognize as their bodies being affected by magic.

Looking at each other, and not immediately seeing anything different. Ranma gestured to the koi pond and asked, "Wanna see if it worked?"

Ryoga looked around to make sure no one was watching, before shrugging. "May as well." With that, the two of them jumped into the shallow edge of the pond.

As Ryoga entered the water, he felt himself start to shrink and almost fell into despair. However, that quickly turned into elation when the shrinking stopped much sooner than it used to. Looking down confirmed his hope, as he – or rather _she_ – saw the swell of her newly gained breasts. Still looking down, she noticed that water had calmed enough to see her reflection.

The first thing she noticed was that her eyes were still the same brown that they used to be, if maybe a shade lighter. Next was the fact that she still had the fangs that all members of the Hibiki clan had. Then she got a surprise as her eyes went to her hair. _What the Hell? Silver? Where the Hell did that come from?_ Indeed, while her hair style was the same as it was when she was a male; the usual black color was absent, replaced by shimmering silver.

"Well, at least it worked for one of us." A familiar female voice grumbled.

Looking up and to the side, Ryoga saw a disgruntled redhead looking at her in annoyance. "What the Hell!? Why aren't you a piglet?" Ryoga exclaimed, noticed that her voice was several octaves higher as a girl.

Ranma sighed, and dropped the annoyed expression. "That's what I'd like to know, Gin (3). Anyway, let's head inside and change back. Besides, Kasumi'll probably have breakfast ready soon." With that, they headed back into the house, and went to the furo (4).

…Only to find themselves in the kitchen. Hearing humming coming from the dining area, Ranma figured that Kasumi was out setting the table. Seeing the kettle of hot water that Kasumi kindly prepared each morning, Ranma set aside his confusion on how they got there, and used the hot water to turn Ryoga and herself back into their male forms.

Putting the kettle and remaining water back where he got it, Ranma led Ryoga out to the dining room.

…Only for them to find themselves at the front gate, moments later. Looking at Ryoga in confusion, Ranma saw an equally confused look on the other boy's face.

"Aren't we going to go eat?" Ryoga asked.

"Er, yeah." Ranma responded, before once more heading to the breakfast table.

…And this time ending up at the door to the furo. Before either could say anything, the door opened to reveal one Nabiki Tendo. Seeing the two boys in front of her, she asked, "Leading Hibiki to the bathroom, Saotome?"

"Err, no, just passin' by on the way to breakfast." He responded, before stepping out of the way, and letting the brown haired girl take the lead. With someone to follow, they easily made it to the table this time. _Looks like Ryoga's sense of direction is rubbin' off on me._ Ranma thought, _I gotta pay more attention._

* * *

><p>When they got to the table, Genma asked, "What are you doin' up so early, Boy?"<p>

"Ryoga found a magical artifact that was supposed to help with my curse, so we got up early to use it." Before he could continue, his father interjected.

"Did it work?" The excitement over a cure was obvious in the older man's voice.

"Nah," At that moment, Ranma had a burst of inspiration, and continued. "If anythin', it backfired."

"What do you mean, Saotome?" The ever-curious Nabiki inquired.

"Well, the artifact, was supposed to switch curses 'tween two people, and we thought that sense Ryoga didn't have a curse, it might work to cure my curse." Those who knew the truth about P-Chan could guess what they were really trying to do, while those who did not know (Akane and Soun) took it at face value. "All it seemed to do was copy my curse on to him, though." He tossed a glare at Ryoga before saying, "I'd feel more sorry about it if you sense o' direction didn't seem to be affectin' me too, now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryoga asked, glaring right back.

"It means 'xactly what I said!" The two were practically growling as they bared their fangs at each other.

Suddenly, Nabiki cut in. "Saotome, since when have you had fangs?"

Reaching up with one hand to feel them revealed that his canines were much more pronounced than he remembered. "Ah, Hell." Looking up at the sound of Ryoga's voice, he saw that the other teen had a horrified expression on his face.

"What is it?" Ranma asked worriedly.

"Well, you know how everyone in my family has fangs and a bad sense of direction?" Ryoga scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"Yeah…" Ranma was getting really worried at this point.

"Um, well, did I, uh," Ryoga seemed to steel himself before saying, "Did I ever mention that they were both due to a family curse?"

* * *

><p><span>NotesTranslations

(1): Tenshi (天使): angel

(2): Oni (鬼): demon/ogre

(3): Gin (銀): silver. Ranma calling Ryoga things like 'Pork Breath' wouldn't really work anymore, so he came up with something new.

(4): Furo (風呂): Bath/bathing room

**AN:** And that seems like a good place to stop. Not much of a cliffhanger by my usual standards, but the longer chapter should make up for that. ^_^ I bet none of you were expecting Christmas to actually be part of the plot! ...It would actually be kind of weird if you did, since it was not going to be, until I decided to change the plot a bit. And by 'change the plot a bit' I mean 'add a plot in the first place'. ^_^'

Now, Ryoga may seem a little OoC at the beginning, but bear in mind that he is hoping to form a true friendship with Ranma, and in that light, I think his actions make sense.

Yes, Ryoga now turns into a girl, too. Not much else to say.

All flames will be used to light Happo Fire Bombs, which will then be thrown at the flamers.


	5. Ripples From 'A Single Step'

**Just Friends?: A 'Lost' Adventure**

**AN:** Hello again! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka! メリークリスマス! Joyeux Noël! Frohe Weihnachten! Here is a little Christmas present for you. For those who do not celebrate Christmas, my apologies that it could not correspond to the day of your own celebration.

Without further ado, let the crossovers (finally) begin!

Disclaimer: If I owned Ranma 1/2, it Ryoga would be a romantic interest for Ranma, and Ranma would have chosen Nabiki for the Tendo engagement.

**Last time, on "Just Friends?":**

"What is it?" Ranma asked worriedly.

"Well, you know how everyone in my family has fangs and a bad sense of direction?" Ryoga scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"Yeah…" Ranma was getting really worried at this point.

"Um, well, did I, uh," Ryoga seemed to steel himself before saying, "Did I ever mention that they were both due to a family curse?"

**And now...**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: Ripples From 'A Single Step'<span>

Silence reigned over those gathered at the table of the Tendo home. Finally, Ranma spoke. "Ryoga, pal, I-I must not o' heard ya right. There ain't no way even _you_ are dense enough to overlook something like _that_!"

"Hey, I thought it only worked on transformational curses! The lady that told me about it even said," Here Ryoga did an impression of a female voice while quoting, "'The mirror is a great way for dealing with Jusenkyo curses, Hibiki-san.' And-" Suddenly, Ryoga stopped and gained a thoughtful expression. "Come to think of it, I never told her my name. How did she know it?"

Ranma sighed and rolled his eyes. "Great. So, somebody hunts ya down to give ya an artifact and we don't even know why. 'Course, since she knew ya by name, it probably means that we're gonna see her show up here in Nerima. Can ya remember what she looked like?"

Ryoga thought for a moment before responding. "I was too excited over the possibility of a cure to take a good look, but I do remember one thing. She had green hair. That was kinda hard NOT to notice. Also, when we parted ways, I thought I heard her mumble something about protecting a 'Tokyo crystal', but I have no idea what that is about."

"So, a girl with green hair, huh? That should be easy enough to watch out for." Ranma replied. "Still, how could ya forget about something like your family having a curse? I know I'd never overlook somethin' like that if my family had one."

Most of the others at the table had been following their conversation, so it was only Nabiki that saw the troubled look pass over Genma's face at that last comment. "What's the matter Saotome? Don't tell me your family has a curse, too."

Seeing the worried looks coming from the two cursed teens, he said, "No, I was just reminded of a legend passed down through my wife's family. It has been over a decade since I last heard it, though, so I cannot remember what it was about. It had something to do with a legendary ancestor, but I remember dismissing it as fantasy, at the time. I will have to ask her about it."

That settled, they finished their meal in peace. When they were done, Ryoga turned to Ranma. "Let's head up to your room and get your travel bag packed."

"What would I need to pack a bag for? I ain't gonna wander off like-" Ranma suddenly stopped and pressed a hand to his face. "Ugh, curse, right. Let's go." This caused a smirk to find its way onto Ryoga's face, which in turn elicited a glare from Ranma.

They started to leave, only to be stopped by a shout from Akane. "Where are you two going? The stairs are in the opposite direction!"

In the end Nabiki took them there (for a modest fee, of course). In a matter of minutes, Ranma had everything that he thought he would need packed away, with some of the more essential items stored in 'stuff space', in the event that he ended up losing his pack. Ryoga collected his pack, as well, and made sure that all of the contents were in their proper places.

When Nabiki led them back downstairs, she stopped before re-entering the living room to ask the two a question. However, when she turned around, there was no one behind her. The two had not paid enough attention, and had already gotten lost.

Meanwhile, the two Lost Boys had just realized that they were no longer inside the Tendo home, but rather on the side of a street that may or may not have been in Nerima. They just stood there for a moment, before Ranma turned to Ryoga.

"Well, since we're out here, what do ya say we take a little walk and see if we can find a cure for our curses?"

Ryoga chuckled. "Sounds good to me, but I think this will be more than just a 'little walk'."

"Well, you know what they say, 'A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step'. I'm just glad I have someone I can rely on in a fight to take that step with me." Ryoga was both surprised and gladdened at that uncharacteristically kind comment. Without any further comment, they suited word to action, and took a single step forward.

This seemed to be a step like any other, but it would hold untold consequences not just for their world, but for many beyond. And while they may not have felt anything unusual about it, there were others who did.

* * *

><p><span>Heaven<span>

Alarms suddenly started to blare, as unexpected code wound its way through the Yggdrassil system. The various goddesses sounded out the readings on their interface displays.

"The reality mapping display is acting irregular!"

"The multiverse matrix is expanding exponentially!"

"Dimension calculations have skipped from seven to nine!"

"Probability of alternate and mirror reality formation increasing dramatically!"

A roll of thunder cut through the continuous reports, but all the goddesses present recognized the message from Him for what it was, and many shivered at its meaning. One of the younger goddesses gained a confused expression, before turning to one of her seniors and asking a question.

"'Dispatching the Inevitables'? Who or what are the Inevitables? And what is so important about Nerima?"

* * *

><p><span>HellNiflheim

A similar scene was taking place in the underworld, and similarly unexpected segments wound their way through the Nidhogg, Hell's counterpart of the Yggdrassil system.

Hild, the Queen of Hell, reacted differently from her heavenly counterpart, however. She brought up a display of those responsible for the recent influx of Chaos, and found herself surprised by the image of two teenage boys. It was not the boys themselves that were surprising, as much as the fact that she recognized one of them. Turning to her aid, she asked, "Where have I seen him before?"

Looking at the image, the demon in question quickly responded. "That would be Ryoga Hibiki. A little over three years ago, he somehow ended up here, evaded capture, and then wrestled Cerberus into submission on his way out. We are still unsure as to how he entered or exited your domain, Hild-sama."

Hild continued to look at the display as a smile both cruel and mischievous found its way onto her face. "I will have to keep an eye on these two."

* * *

><p><span>Hellsing Estate, England<span>

Alucard opened his eyes and leaned forward in his 'throne'. It had been a long time since he last had a dream. Even longer since he had one odd enough to wake him up in the middle of the day. He smirked, a cruel hungry smirk. Such dreams meant that something was coming; something big. Hopefully it would be enough to keep him amused for at least a couple of decades.

* * *

><p><span>Somewhere Between Dimensions<span>

The Headmaster of Youkai Academy looked up from the documents he was reading. Something had happened. He was not sure what, but he knew that big things were coming. Perhaps it was time for him to attempt his plan of bringing a human to his school. If things went as he predicted, and he chose the right Human to do it, then his precious academy may be able to weather whatever it was that was approaching.

* * *

><p><span>Pluto<span>

Setsuna was furious, a rare emotion for the usually calm Sailor Pluto. She was often annoyed, even truly angered on occasion, but VERY rarely was she ever outright **furious**. However, Ranma Saotome was one of the few people that seemed to be able to bring that emotion out with ease. Chaos was sown wherever he went. His very existence was a threat to Crystal Tokyo.

She had tried just about everything she could think of to neutralize the threat he represented. She had tried having him kidnapped as a child. The kidnappers were swiftly dispatched by his deceptively talented father. She tried poisoning him as a child. He survived every attempt, and now had built up a resistance or even immunity to nearly every poison on the planet, (and even some from beyond,) that would have trained ninja green with envy. She saw his father's obsession with training, and made sure that the deadliest training techniques ever created found their way into his hands, even the nearly lethal Neko-ken Training manual. Ranma had survived them all, and come out as one of the most powerful teens on the planet, with only a fear of cats hindering him.

_And that fear won't last if he discovers a way to truly master the Neko-ken._ She thought bitterly.

She had lured him to Jusenkyo, to try and trap him in the form of a small, weak, and (most importantly) vulnerable animal. Instead, he had merely gained the ability to change genders; hardly a weakness she could easily exploit. She had ensured that his most determined fiancés all had suitors all too eager to try and cripple or even kill him. They had done little other than act as more training, and Ranma ended up stronger than ever. She had manipulated events to have inhumanly powerful enemies try to kill him. Even Herb of the Musk and Saffron of the Phoenix had fallen to his hand, and some now hailed him as a God Slayer (even if Saffron WAS really just an extremely powerful phoenix). The only thing she had not tried was a direct assassination, and there was no way she could pull that off by herself at this point. Maybe with the help of the other Senshi, but there was no way the Usagi would go along with it.

She had even tried again with the curse, by helping the Hibiki boy find that mirror, and yet again something went wrong. Instead of turning into a harmless piglet, Ranma now had a curse that made him impossible to track. Not only did this increase the chance that Ranma could encounter the Inner Senshi without her knowing, but it also created countless more possible futures that she had to try and sift through.

Whatever she tried, something always went wrong, almost as if something were actively working against her to protect the child. If such a force existed, however, even the mighty Time Gates were unable to detect it.

Thus, Setsuna was furious. The worst part was, until she figured out a way to find Ranma again, there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

><p><span>Somewhere on the Depths of the Ocean Floor<span>

Something stirred. It was massive, It was ancient, and beyond even the slightest shadow of a doubt, It was most certainly not of this world. An eldritch monstrosity beyond the comprehension of the mind of man, It settled back into Its slumber, waiting for the day that it would rise to the surface, and take the world as its own.

* * *

><p><span>That Night… Somewhere in England<span>

Many others felt something was amiss, from a Dimensional Witch, to an alien man in a Little Blue Box, but Ranma and Ryoga were not aware of any of this. There was one thing that they were completely certain of, though… They were lost.

*CRASH*"Where the hell are we now?" Ryoga asked as he broke through another wall.

"Dammit Ryoga," Ranma said, "How many times do I have to tell you not to break down random walls? Geez, you're worse than Shampoo sometimes." Looking around the room, he saw a man and a woman staring at them in shock, the woman cradling a small child in her arms. "See, you just broke into someone's home for no good reason. Now let's go before they try to make us pay for the damages. I think if we go South, we will hit Beijing sometime tomorrow." With that, they exited the building, and Ranma dragged Ryoga off to the West.

Meanwhile, James and Lily Potter stared in shock at the hole in the wall, and the departing duo beyond. Then they looked down at the pile of rubble, and the unconscious Dark Lord pinned underneath.

James turned to his wife and asked, "Did they just save our lives on ACCIDENT?!"

* * *

><p><span>NotesTranslations: None this time.

**AN:** And thus the crossovers start, and these are just the one that exist in the same reality as they start in, (except Heaven and Hell, those connect to multiple realities,) and not all the series possible for that reality, at that. So far we have 'Ah! My Goddess', 'Hellsing', 'Rosario + Vampire', 'Sailor Moon', the Cthulhu Mythos, and 'Harry Potter'. What else is to come? You will have to wait and see. ^_^

Who or what are the 'Inevitables'? Why is Setsuna so determined to eliminate Ranma? Will Ranma and Ryoga be able to survive drawing Hild's attention? Look forward to finding out!

And yes, Ryoga just K.O.'d Voldemort on accident. ^_^

All flames will be used to light Happo Fire Bombs, which will then be thrown at the flamers.


	6. Meeting the Hibikis

**Just Friends?: A 'Lost' Adventure**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Ranma ½, then I would not have to be borrowing someone else's computer to type this****.**** I don't own any other series used either.**

**AN:** Hello again! Only six month's for me to update this time, and with a longer chapter than ever at 5.5k words! That's a personal record! Lots of important information in this chapter, as well as a few hints of what is to come.

Also, I finally got some cover art for this story. it was done by the-maky-z and Sauron88 on DeviantArt. Go check them out!

Without further ado, let my longest chapter yet begin!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6: Meeting the Hibikis<span>

Ranma stretched as she walked. Judging by the position of the sun, it was around ten in the morning. They had been walking for a couple of hours now, and had sparred for about an hour before that. It had been the same routine, barring a few minor incidents, since they left the Tendo Dojo a week ago: get up, spar, walk, stop for lunch, spar, walk, set up camp for the night, spar, eat dinner, go to sleep.

They had left to find a cure for one or both of their curses, but so far had found nothing. The trip had not been entirely pointless, however, as Ranma could tell that both of her forms were getting stronger and faster from her daily spars with Ryoga, and she was building up her endurance having to walk all day. She could tell that the silvered haired girl walking beside her was getting faster, too

In fact, Ranma honestly considered this one of the best training trips she had been on. Or at least, she would, if they were not currently lost and walking through the rain. Turning to the girl beside her, Ranma could no longer contain her curiosity. "So, Ryoga, why didn't ya use your umbrella ta stay a guy?"

Ryoga responded with a genuinely happy smile on her face. "Are you kidding, Ranma? Ever since I went to Jusenkyo, I have had to use an umbrella or turn into a piglet. This is my first chance in years to feel the rain and stay human."

Ranma understood the sentiment. "I guess that makes sense. Kinda like how I felt when I got that packet of Instant Spring of Drowned Boy from Shampoo. At least you never have ta worry about bein' a pig again." Ranma's face got an annoyed expression. "Why couldn't ya let _me_ use the umbrella, then?"

A smirk found its way on to Ryoga's face. "Ranma, how long has it been raining for?"

"Over an hour. Why?"

Ryoga sent a sly glance at the redhead. "Do you think you could carry _my_ umbrella over your head for that long?"

That caused Ranma to stop for a moment as the meaning hit her. "Oh."

Ryoga laughed at her expression. Ever since coming to Nerima, Ryoga had been getting mad at Ranma for the almost constant teasing, but seeing the expression on her companions face, Ryoga could not help but think, _This is actually kind of fun. If Ranma's going to keep teasing me, then maybe I should just tease right back. After all, we're supposed to be friends now, right?_

Ryoga's thoughts were broken into when Ranma shivered and spoke up. "Brr, this rain is cold. We should find some place to stop."

Ryoga had to agree. Considering that it was the beginning of January, it was surprising that it was rain at all, rather than snow. "Still, we're in a city again, so we can't just set up camp wherever we want."

Ranma turned and opened her mouth to speak, and to freeze and stare at her. Ryoga stopped as well. "What is it?"

Ranma pointed over Ryoga's shoulder, revealing that she had actually been looking past the silver haired girl. "Why don't we stay here?"

Ryoga turned to see what Ranma was pointing at, only stop and stare for a few moments herself.

It was a nice house with a nameplate on the front wall with 'Hibiki' on it. Somehow, they had managed to find the way back to her house.

Before either could say more the sound of barking came from inside, and a black and white dog came running out. Ryoga smiled and cried, "Checkers!" only for the dog to suddenly stop and sniff the air in confusion. Ryoga got confused as well. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's your smell, idiot." Ranma said while rolling her eyes.

Ryoga glared at her. "Waddya mean? I don't smell that bad!"

"You're a girl right now." Ranma explained. "She's only ever smelled ya as a guy, so the feminine scent is mixing her up."

"Oh, that makes sense. But how would you know about that?"

"Er, that's not important. Right now we need to head in and get some hot water." Attracted to the sound of her voice, the dog turned to the redhead. Ryoga could not help but feel a sense of betrayal as Checkers jumped up and started licking Ranma's face.

"How come she still recognizes you!?" Ryoga asked in annoyance.

After getting the dog to stop licking her, Ranma responded. "It makes sense. I've haven't been here as a guy in years, but I've been here as a girl more recently." Suddenly, Ranma changed into using an overly cutesy voice. "Or did you forget about that already, Onii-chan?(1)" Ranma changed back to her normal voice with a laugh. "I guess right now it would 'Onee-chan',(2) huh?"

Ryoga glared at her, but a new voice sounded before he could respond. "Checkers dear, is someone there?"

Ranma couldn't help but gasp at the beauty that stepped out of the Hibiki house. She had flowing golden blonde hair that went down to her waist, the sole ornament in which was a maroon ribbon tied around a lock of hair that fell in front of her right shoulder. She had deep green eyes that made Ranma think of a dense forest canopy, and the smile that spread across her face at the sight of guests gave her a very Kasumi-ish aura. Perhaps her most notable feature, however, were her pointed ears. Given her flawless pale skin, and overall appearance, Ranma thought, _She can't be much older than me an' Ryoga are._

Ryoga smiled at the newcomer and said, "Okaa-san!(3)"

Ranma felt her jaw drop as she stared in shock. _So much for that thought about her age!_

"Oh my!" The women said, as a concerned expression came over her face. "I'm sorry, but there seems to be a mistake here. My only child is a boy, you see."

Ranma smacked Ryoga in the back of the head. "Idiot! Of course she wouldn't recognize you like that!" She turned to the woman Ryoga had identified as her mother. "Sorry about this, Hibiki-san, but if we could get some hot water, it'd be easier to explain why we're here."

Curious as to why two teenage girls had appeared out of the rain, as well as why one had called her 'Okaa-san', she invited them inside, and said she would heat up some water. Before she left, Ranma noticed that she had a thin rope tied to her wrist, the trailing end of which led deeper into the house. _Probably so she doesn't get lost before she's ready to leave the house._

From deeper in the house they heard a male voice. "Kareha-chan, who was it?"

The now identified Kareha Hibiki responded. "They seem to be friends of Ryoga. They said the needed hot water for some reason."

At the sound of the male voice, Ryoga said, "Otou-san's(4) home too? That's surprising."

Ten minutes later, Ryoga's parents returned to the entry way where they were waiting. Kareha gestured to the man beside her. "This is my husband, Ken Hibiki." Seeing him, Ranma only had one thought. _He looks like an older Ryoga, with glasses instead of a bandana._

"Here's the hot water you asked for." Kareha said, handing the kettle to Ranma.

"Well, then, let's get this over with." Ranma said, before pouring hot water onto her companion. Ryoga's parents just stared at their son for a moment, before a mischievous twinkle appeared in his father's eyes.

Ken smiled and said, "Oh, I have _got_ to hear the story behind this."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later the four seated around a table eating dinner, as Ryoga finished telling how he had gotten the Mirror, and the events following that, with Ranma giving 'helpful' interjections from time to time.<p>

When he finished, his father sat in silence with a thoughtful expression on his face. After a moment, he spoke with a smile. "Well, this doesn't seem too bad after all. Ryoga, now you can defend yourself all the time, which you couldn't do as a piglet. As for you, Ranma, as long as you can manage not to get separated from Ryoga, he should be able to teach you how to deal with our family curse." Then his glasses flashed and his smiled turned mischievous again. "If you want, we can always have you fully join our family. I know I wouldn't mind having redheaded grandchildren."

Ken had timed this to Ranma taking a drink of water, which caused the teen to start coughing and spill the rest of the cup, turning him into the form he – now she – really did not want to be in, after that last comment. However, before she or Ryoga could protest, the attention at the table was drawn to Ryoga's mother.

"Oh my! Oh my, my, my!" All Ranma could do was stare in surprise as Kareha's eyes began to visibly sparkle, and the air around her began to brighten. The woman herself seemed to be off in her own little world as she pressed her hands to her cheeks, and continued to smile and mumble "Oh my!" repeatedly.

Seeing Ranma recovered from her coughing, and Ryoga glaring at him as well, Ken decided to change subject a bit, remembering an incident from a while back that Ryoga had explained to him. "Then again, I suppose that would be an issue with you being siblings, eh, Yoiko-chan?"

That caused Ranma's anger to melt away into nervousness. Ranma did not know if there was any legal issue, but there was no way Ryoga's parents would be happy about her using the Hibiki name without permission.

However, that nervousness was blown away a moment later, when Ryoga's father burst out laughing. "Don't get tense! I'm just messing with you!" He turned to his son. "Really though, Ryoga, you should have suspected something. Little sisters don't just appear out of thin air, you know. One of us would have at least left you a note."

Ranma felt an odd tightening in her chest at those words. For the first time, it struck her just how much Ryoga's life was ruined by his family's curse. The thought of something like a younger sibling being reduced to a note since his own parents had no way of contacting him. Ranma realized just how much of Ryoga's childhood must have been spent alone. And not 'alone' as in no one else home, but 'alone' as in stranded in the wilderness with no other human around for miles. Only for him to get home, and only have his pet dog waiting for him there.

_No wonder he's got so much depression._ Ranma thought sadly. _How young was he when he first got separated from his parents? How many nights did he have ta fall asleep ta the sounds of an empty house, with only Checkers for company? How many days did he not even have that, forced ta wander through wilderness, wondering if he__'__d ever see his parents again? It's no wonder he always fell for my disguises so easily; he must o__'__ dreamed of having someone who would be happy ta see him and ta be with him regardless of his curses. And as for pretendin' ta be his sister... Man, I feel like a major ass._

Ryoga and his father had started arguing about Ryoga's inability to see through Ranma's disguises, (and Kareha was still off in her own world,) so they did not take note of Ranma's silence, or the tears that started to slide down the redhead's cheeks.

However, Checkers, who had been sitting quietly between the two teens, did notice the emotional change in the (currently) female one. Wanting to cheer up the 'nice friend of her master', (as Checkers thought of Ranma as being,) the dog jumped up and started licking Ranma's face. Ranma couldn't help but laugh as the tears were replaced with slobber.

Ryoga raised an eyebrow at that. "You're lucky Ranma. Checkers is usually pretty shy around strangers, but she seems to like you for some reason."

Finally getting the dog to stop licking her face, Ranma smiled and scratched her behind the ears as she spoke. "Yeah, Checkers and I get along real well now, don't we girl?" Checkers gave a soft bark in response.

Suddenly, Ryoga's father spoke up. "That reminds me, I haven't fed Checkers yet, tonight. Since you're getting along well with her, do you think you can take care of that Ranma? I need to talk to Ryoga about something."

Ryoga was surprised that his father would ask Ranma – a guest – to do something like that, but it was obviously an excuse to talk to him with Ranma out of the room. Ranma seemed to realize the same thing, as she hopped out of her seat and said, "Sure thing. Let's get you something to eat, Checkers. The dog food's still in the closet under the stairs, right?"

That left Ryoga confused. "Huh? How do you know where we keep her food, Ranma?"

That caused Ranma to freeze midstep.

"Er, um, w-well..." Ranma fumbled, trying to find an answer.

It was Ken who supplied one, though. "It's because this isn't her first time feeding Checkers, is it Ranma?" He said with a knowing smile.

Ryoga was still confused. "What are you talking about?"

Ken turned to his son. "You didn't get back while Checkers was pregnant, so you didn't notice. Dogs eat more when they are pregnant, so she should have been low on food by the time your mother or I got back, yet she wasn't. That means that there was someone else keeping an eye on her and making sure she had enough food. I thought it was one of the neighbors at first, but they said they hadn't done so, and they had no reason to lie. That meant someone else was getting her food."

He turned back to Ranma, who was looking a bit embarrassed about the whole situation. "It was actually when Ryoga told me about the Yoiko situation that made me suspicious. Checkers should have acted oddly around a stranger, but she was perfectly comfortable with you."

Ryoga looked to Ranma. "You really took care of Checkers while we were gone?" Then he got annoyed as another thought struck him. "Don't tell me you just did it to keep me from being suspicious of Yoiko!"

"Of course not!" Ranma snapped back. "When I remembered who ya were, after ya first showed up in Nerima, I remembered those times I had ta walk ya home, and when I met Checkers as a puppy. I had a free afternoon one day, so I decided ta see how she was doing, since I remembered that you're parents had the same sense o' direction that you do. She was just starting ta show, and her food was low, and I couldn't just leave her like that, so I got her some more. After that, well, I sorta ended up comin' here a lot to play with her, and ta get away from craziness over at the Tendo's. That's how I knew about the train and the rotten post in the shortcut I showed you to get here."(5)

"Also, I..." Ranma continued in a sorrowful voice, "I'm sorry about pretending ta be your sister Ryoga, I guess I kinda went too far that time."

Seeing a single tear fall down Ranma's cheek, Ryoga got up and placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Are you okay, Ranma? You're acting a bit strange."

Ranma looked up to him with teary eyes. She honestly wasn't sure how to answer that question. Ranma had been feeling weird all day, and she wasn't sure why. _Did that mirror do something 'sides switching our curses, or-_ Suddenly a cramp hit her lower abdomen, giving a much more mundane response that she did NOT want. _Wait a minute, mood swings, cramping... ah, crap. It's that time of the month again._

"It's nothin'." She said to Ryoga. "I gotta run to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

However, Kareha had returned to reality, and had apparently figured it out faster than Ranma had. "Excuse me, Ranma, but how complete is that curse?"

Ranma responded with a sigh. "Jusenkyo curses are 'fully functional and complete' according ta Dr. Tofu." Realizing why she was asking, Ranma added something else that Tofu had noticed about the curse. "He also said that 'any natural changes only progress while in that form', or somethin' like that."

As Ranma left the room with Checkers leading the way, Kareha turned to Ryoga. "Well, it seems we need to Talk about your new cursed form."

And Ryoga thought it was embarrassing getting The Talk for his birth form. Needless to say, it was a long night for both teens.

* * *

><p>Morning found the same four gathered around the breakfast table. Thankfully, Checkers had managed to keep anyone from wandering off in the night.<p>

As they ate, Ryoga couldn't help but be curious, as Ranma was still in female form. "Uh, why haven't you changed back yet Ranma?"

The redhead scowled at him, blushing slightly in embarrassment as she spoke. "I know your mom talked about IT with ya last night, and I want ta get IT over with as soon as possible." Seeing him blushing in understanding, Ranma quickly changed the subject. Turning to her friend's parents, Ranma asked, "Have ya seen much magic in your travels? I was kinda surprised that ya didn't react more ta Ryoga's curse."

Ryoga's parents just glanced at each other before Ken burst out laughing, and even Kareha started giggling. Just as Ranma started to get annoyed enough to ask what was so funny, Ryoga's father calmed down enough to speak, and gestured to his wife. "Kareha has pointed ears, causes a strange glow when she daydreams, and looks this hot at 412 years old, and you think we don't know about magic?"

Ranma was about to retort, when her mind caught up to something he said. Head whirling to stare bug-eyed at Ryoga's mother, she shouted, "Wait... You're OVER 400 YEARS OLD!?"

"Actually, Ranma," Ken spoke again, "400 is still pretty young by Goddesses' standards."

Ranma just stared at the blonde woman blankly for a few seconds, as her brain tried to reboot. However, the redhead's expression quickly turned into a superior smirk as she shot a glance at Ryoga, before turning back to his father. "So what you're sayin', is that Ryoga is technically a demigod?" Ranma laughed. "So, the only person my age who can keep up with me in a fight is a demigod, and I still beat him most of the time. Man, I'm awesome!"

"Ranma..." Ryoga growled out in irritation.

"Now, now, Ryoga," Ken broke in, "When she says it like that it actually is pretty impressive."

"Otou-san! Don't encourage her!"

Ranma sent an annoyed glare at Ryoga for his choice of pronoun. His parents were one thing, but Ryoga should know better. _Then again,_ Ranma thought, _that does give me an idea. I will have to talk to him about it._

However, Kareha chose that moment to enter the conversation. "Actually, Ranma-chan, I am actually from the lowest tier of Goddesses, so my powers aren't very impressive. I imagine all Ryoga got from me was a bit of extra magical energy."

"Wait," Ranma said in confusion, "ya mean he doesn't get his insane toughness and monstrous strength from ya?"

"Oh no," Kareha shook her head with a smile. "That is a Hibiki trait."

Ken confirmed this by lifting up the table with one hand... while holding it by the edge... and keeping it perfectly level...

Ranma might have actually been impressed, if she didn't know Ryoga.

Seeing the lack of reaction, Ken set the table down and shrugged. "The Hibikis have always been strong, or at least since my great-grandmother married a Minotaur she met in Greece. I haven't managed to find any records of our family before that. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to find records of events predating the Roman Empire."

Ranma had to think for a moment to decide which to address first: the fact that the Hibikis had minotaur blood (not really surprising considering Ryoga's fighting style), or the fact that each generation lived long enough to put Ryoga's great-great-grandmother over 2,000 years in the past. "Er, Ken-san, just how old are you?"

"437 next month," He said without missing a beat. "Why do you ask?"

Ranma frowned at that. "Does not mean I'm gonna live ta be really old, too?"

"Hmm," Ken rubbed his chin in thought. "I'm actually not sure whether the extended age is part of our 'curse' or our genetics. Kareha-chan is a Goddess, so we wouldn't notice. My mother was half werewolf, so she retained her youth, but she was still slain relatively young at 97 during Japan's Warring States Period(6). And my grandmother was a psuedo-human from another world called a 'Gerudo', so I don't know what lifespan would be normal for her. She also died in battle, but at the age of 105. And my great-grandfather lived to be nearly 800, but he was a full-blooded Minotaur, so I'm not sure if that was natural or not."

"Wait," Ranma suddenly waved her hands to stop him, remembering his comment about the Roman Empire. "Are ya sayin' no one from the Hibiki family has actually married a human since before the CHINESE Warring States Period(7)?"

Ken thought for a moment before shrugging. "Well, my mother was HALF human."

Ranma heaved a sigh. "What's sad is that I've honestly heard weirder things in the last couple of years."

Ryoga, who had been listening to the back and forth between Ranma and his father up until now chose to speak up. "The reminds me, Otou-san, it's your job to go looking for and legends and stuff, right?"

"Technically, I seek unrecorded documentation pertaining to ancient history, but yes, you could phrase it like that." Ken replied with a wry grin. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, me and Ranma-"

"That should be 'Ranma and I'," Ryoga's mother suddenly cut in with a slight frown. "It is very important to watch your grammar since you can't attend school regularly, Ryoga. Perhaps you can even tutor Ranma a bit while you two travel."

"Yes, Okaa-san," Ryoga said obediently. He actually didn't mind teaching people, but he doubted Ranma would let him. Turning back to his father, he made sure to speak correctly. "Ranma and I set out to look for a cure for our Jusenkyo curses, or even a cure for the Hibiki curse, and I was wondering if you had heard any legends that might help."

Ken frowned at that. "I have been looking for a cure for our family's curse for nearly two centuries now, but nothing has worked. As for Jusenkyo curses, I have come across mention of them many times. Did you know that Son Goku from 'A Journey to the West' was based off an actual person who fell in the spring of drowned monkey? But I digress. While I have not found any cures for those curses, I can give you a warning: whatever you do, do NOT try to cure your curses using the Spring of Drowned Boy."

"What? Why not?" Ranma burst out, thinking of how many times she had come close to doing exactly that.

"It is because Jusenkyo curses don't cancel each other out," Ken said grimly. "The old curse and the new curse will fuse together. Ryoga, you are lucky that the mirror you used did not cause this to happen. You could have ended up turning into a female pig, or even worse, a human-pig hybrid."

Ryoga went wide-eyed in alarm. Ranma had a question, though. "If that's the case, maybe we can find a girl with the Spring of Drowned Boy curse, and switch with her. That way-"

"No." Ryoga's father cut her off. "It could have been random chance, but if not, then the mirror would prioritize out family curse, and you would just end up spreading it. However, if you want, you can leave the mirror with me, and I can do some more research into it. I may find a legend that could help better control it."

Ranma and Ryoga exchanged a glance and a shrug. "Sounds good to me," said Ryoga, before walking over to where he set his backpack against the wall and started rummaging around in it, looking for the mirror.

While he was doing that, his father turned to Ranma. "While I may not know of any way to cure either of your curses, I do know someone who may be able to help you. His name is Lóngwáng, and while our curse makes it difficult to be sure, I believe he lives in the Jusenkyo Valley. He has lived there for even longer than I have been alive, so if anyone is to know how to cure a Jusenkyo curse, it is him."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at that. "He's even older than you? Is he human?"

"No, he is actually one of the last remaining full-blooded dragons." Ken said. "In fact, if you tell him I sent you, he may be willing to help. I met him almost a decade ago, and gave him a magic potion I had found that helped him re-grow a whisker that had been stolen from him. Originally, I tried to help him track down the whisker itself. I found the person that had done it, but they had given it to a wanderer that had passed through. Funny thing is, the person who stole it was using it to make a special porridge to re-grow hair. Can you believe that?"

"Heh heh," Ranma fiddled nervously with her pigtail. "So, how mad do ya think he'd be if that wandered showed up and had been using that whisker as a hair tie?"

Ken just stared at him for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "You... you were that wanderer? And you've been using Lóngwáng's whisker as a hair tie!?" Ranma couldn't help but glare in annoyance, as Ken took a moment to calm down. "Well, if the potion restored his whisker like it was supposed to, he shouldn't be too upset, but whether it did or not, I am sure it would make a good impression if you offered to return it."

"Found it!" Ryoga interrupted, returning with the wrapped mirror.

"Thank you," Ken took the artifact carefully. I will make sure to leave a message here if I find out anything more that can help you two."

* * *

><p>An hour later found the four gathered outside. Ryoga and his parents had already exchanged their farewells. Ken did have one last thing to say, though. "We are going to try and stay here for a couple more days, so feel free to call if you think of anything else you two need."<p>

With those final words spoken, Ranma and Ryoga headed out. After a few minutes of traveling in silence, Ryoga turned to his companion. "So what were you and my father talking about while I was looking for the mirror?"

"Oh, right," Ranma said turning her head to face him as they walked. "He was telling me about someone who might know how to cure Jusenkyo curses. His name is Lóngwáng, and apparently he is a dragon that lives in Jusenkyo Valley. I think he may also be the same dragon my Dragon Whisker came from."

"Well, that is a place to start at least." Ryoga said, facing forward. Now all we have to do is get to Ju-" He stopped in both midsentence and midstep. Ranma also looked ahead and froze, as well. They were no longer on the street.

In fact, they weren't even OUTSIDE anymore.

In every direction, all they could see was glass and metal. It was Ryoga who voiced their thoughts. "Where the Hell are we now?"

At his cry, the lighting suddenly turned red and an alarm blared. A nearby security camera turned toward them, and a female voice seemed to sound from all around. "Intruder detected. Please Identify yourself and give your reason for being here."

Ranma stepped forward and shouted over the alarm. "I'm Ranma Saotome, and this is Ryoga Hibiki. We didn't mean ta trespass. Honestly, we're kinda lost, so we don't even know where this is."

In response, the alarm died down and the lighting returned to its previous pristine white. The voice spoke again. "Ah, it has been so long since I have had visitors. Welcome to Aperture Science Enrichment Center. You may call me GLaDOS. Would you like to participate in an experiment while you are here? At the end, there will be cake."

Ranma turned to Ryoga. "I could definitely go for some cake right now. What do ya say?"

Ryoga shrugged. "Why not. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

* * *

><p>NotesTranslations: (1): Onii-chan is an affectionate term for an older brother.

(2): Onee-chan is an affectionate term for an older sister.

(3): Okaa-san means 'mother'.

(4): Otou-san means 'father'.

(5): During the Yoiko arc in the manga, Ranma and Ryoga take a shortcut to get to Ryoga's house that Ranma remembered. However, there are two odd points in it. First, is where they ride on the side of a train, and second is where Ranma hops over a rotten post as they cross a canal. If he was really remembering the shortcut from years ago, Ranma should not have known the train schedule for that particular train off the top of his head, and that post likely would have already been replaced if it had been bad for so long.

(6): The Sengoku period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai?) or the Warring States Period lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century.

(7): "The Warring States period (simplified Chinese: 战国时代; traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài), also known as the Era of Warring States, is a period in ancient China following the Spring and Autumn period and concluding with the victory of the state of Qin in 221 BC, creating a unified China under the Qin Dynasty. Different scholars use dates for the beginning of the period ranging between 481 BC and 403 BC, but Sima Qian's date of 475 BC is most often cited." Thank you, Wikipedia.

**AN:** Yes, what is the worst that could happen when falling into the grasp of a homicidal AI? For those of you who do not recognize the names given, Aperture Science and GLaDOS are from the Portal games, and with them we start our first full crossover. Also, while Ryoga's father is an OC, his mother is not. I wonder how many people can guess what series she is from?

Who is Lóngwáng, and how will he react to Ranma having his lost whisker? Will they be able to survive GLaDOS's puzzles? Look forward to finding out!

Flames will be saved until winter, because Alaskan summers are hot enough already.


End file.
